This week I took some time to baste and straight line quilt this baby quilt. It's an alternate project in my craftsy class....I thought it would be nice to have a baby sized option in addition to the bed size quilt offered in the class.

I love that it shows a completely different color option than the first quilt (right). I never tire seeing how different colors change the look of a pattern! In fact, I have plans to make yet another row quilt (in the larger size) made with all Denyse Schmidt fabrics. I just need to find the right background fabric....and the time. Ha! (It's no wonder I have so many WIPs, right?)

I chose straight line quilting to finish it off and that decision always wages war with my perfectionist side. Whenever I am in the middle of straight line quilting, I wonder why I thought it was a good idea. My lines are rarely straight and it's not a very forgiving technique at all. I chose to do a little vertical stitching (in the zipper row), because I knew that if I continued with the horizontal stitching in that row, I would have all kinds of distortion. The bit of vertical stitching was definitely the right choice! I used Auriful 2600 (the perfect gray) thread for quilting, which works well with the white background and the bold solids.

For the backing, I used (rather than hoarded) this fabulous old Denyse Schmidt dot print. (It's from JoAnn's, copyright 2011.) I think it's one of my all time fabrics ever! I'm kind of smitten by those flying geese, too. They aren't my favorite to make, but they sure are pretty! I used an Art Gallery solid teal fabric for the binding. I thought it would be a pain to stitch (since the weave of the fabric is more dense than most quilting cottons) but it was actually quite pleasant. I love hand stitching a binding!

The quilt measures 36" x 48". I love how it turned out!

Also, I'm really, really loving my new found photography spots at a nearby park. When I was taking these photographs yesterday morning I had a few people ask "do you make those?", which I thought was kind of funny. I even had a guy ask "do you sell those?" No one called them quilts, but then again, no one called them blankets, either. So that's a win!

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thank you, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday. I really mean it! :)

Beauty ! Hopefully you had some business cards to hand out... if not, you should take some next time. Your quilts deserve all the attention they get. I would like to know the name of that grey dot background fabric - it's perfect. maybe you could tell us next time you use it. I hope to take your class once harvest is out of the way.

I love the colours in the baby sized quilt and the photo location! I haven't taken anything of mine on a photo shoot but the more I see quilts photographed in gorgeous locations the more I think I should do it!

I must say how much I adore that solids version of this design. And those dots for the sashing really make them shine! Love the quilting. And yes a finish without a new start is a step in the right direction. Great pictures!

What a delightful post! A lovely way to compliment showcasing such a beautiful quilt. I'm glad to hear someone mention distortion when straight line quilting. I'm a perfectionist, too, and even just a little bit of distortion was driving me crazy. I thought it was me. I thought I was doing something wrong. I mentioned it before, but I have to say again what beautiful colors. Superb photo shoot!

I think it's really smart to have the same quilt done in different color palettes. There are many, many people who are only able to envision the pattern as it is shown and it's hard to convince those people that the same quilt will be strikingly different with another line of fabrics. I love your new photo spots.

I really love both versions of this quilt but especially the solids one. I also love your photos. When I straight line quilt - which I do all the time - I plan for straightish lines in a modern industrial sort of look and then I achieve that every time. Perfectly straight is a very hard objective but straighish is really calm and comfortable.

Both of your row by row quilts are fantastic! I love how they showcase the variety of options depending on your fabric choices. This is a reminder that I need to get back to watching your Craftsy class! Your new photo shoot location is so beautiful! How nice to have such a pretty park nearby. I sometimes feel intimidated by photographing quilts when "strangers" are nearby. I guess I should get over that. I am glad to hear that your "strangers" didn't call your lovely quilts blankets. Enjoy your weekend!

Your quilt turned out great! I like the straight line stiting very much. I like you get a little OCD when I do them on machine so I mostly do straight lines when hand quilting. This would make a great wall hanging in a contemporary industrial decor. Debbie

I'm not quilting right now, so I don't have a linkup, but I just love your work!

More specifically, I love the hands holding the quilt on the first picture! I get my son's hands sometimes in photos... I have got to figure out how to do the better. Or not! I just love the realism and to know there are folks out there just like me!!!

The quilts are gorgeous & I think the straight line quilting looks great too! I am a fan of the 35-porch rule. Hang the quilt on your porch & drive by at 35mph. If you can't see the problem then, everything is fine!!

Absolutely stunning quilt. I am really enjoying looking around your blog for the first time today. The world of blogging has really opened me up to so many different crafts! Will have to try one of your tutorials.

Lovely quilts! I'm hoping you can get back to me and answer a question. When you do your straight line quilting, do you do every single row from top to bottom? Or do you alternate - like every other one top to bottom, then bottom to top? I'd like to try this myself, but worry about it turning out wonky. Thanks so much.